Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Gravity of Love ❯ The Gravity of Love: Part 1 ( Chapter 3 )

~Gravity of Love~3

 

Rays of dying sunlight filtered deftly through the blinds that bedecked the window of the small, well-kempt kitchen, pouring through from the darkening horizon and painting the table and floor that lay in its midst in a pleasant glow.

 

The simmering of a pot could be heard, the quiet, effervescent bubbling causing a faint aroma to rise from beneath the lidded enclosure that was both appetizingly-pleasing and delectable.

 

Chords of classical music flowed methodically into the kitchen from the adjoining room, the beautiful strands drifting in and encompassing the room in a pleasant atmosphere that eased all who stood in its presence.

 

Aged amethyst eyes were closed in peaceful contentment. Finely wrinkled hands grasped a pair of invisible ones gently in their grasp as he swept about the living room in an elegant, ball room dance, movements fluid and precise as the music flowed, profound grace and commitment reflected in sensual movements that spoke of years of mastery.

 

The tune was slow, soft, violinists only sparking up every so often, the atmosphere of the house unchanged as the music progressed slowly into a lovely solo of a talented violinist who, with his guided bow, conveyed emotions of the deepest melancholy and the most profound hope.

 

Detached amethyst watched in quiet, saddened observation, head downcast as irises of jeweled brilliance ghosted up every so often to watch the elder in one of the only times of remembrance where he actually permitted himself to remember his late wife, Yuugi's grandmother, with a series of slow, loved-filled dances.

 

The memory of her passing was still a soft spot for him.

 

Watching his grandfather sweep once more about the living room, the faint signs of a content smile on his aged features, Yuugi let out a soft breath, his eyes downcast and darkening with the subtle chords of sorrow.

 

She had died three years ago, a mere year after he had met Yami.

 

The memories that they held were truly exquisite. Times of love, comfort, contentment…the family's bond to one another staggering and filled with devotion. When Yami had entered his life, fresh from the world of the puzzle and confining, horrible darkness, he had been so shocked when he had seen the circle he had entered into. It was almost as if the spirit had never known what it was like to be part of a family, to have friends, to be loved and feel loved…As if the only thing he had experienced was true darkness, the thick, shifting shadows conceiving a barrier against all former knowledge of light, life, and happiness and, consequently, making him utterly ignorant when he entered the world of Yuugi's home that was literally based on it.

 

Yuugi had been next to horrified when he realized this and had immediately took the spirit under his wing, showing him all the potentials life had to offer. He showed him the light, aided him whenever he was in distress due to his unfamiliar surroundings, and, in turn, bestowed upon him all the love and comfort he needed to ensure that he would eventually learn to call this place his home.

 

Considered, at first, he was incredibly wary of his surroundings, looking at every person, wall, and tree as a potential threat. Hell, at first, he had even considered Yuugi a considerable threat. Yuugi remembered those times.

 

Harsh, cold, calculating eyes narrowed to the narrowest of slits, darkened cerise eyes suppressing raging fury as they bore into unsuspecting violet laced with fear and anxiety…the dull pounding of adrenalin alighted and flaring in system and body as his rationality screamed at him to flee, but his unconventional will and desire to help the man kept him pinned to that spot.

 

It had taken a considerable amount of time to earn the boy's trust, but, when he finally had, it had been well worth it.

 

Yami had slowly opened up to him, letting Yuugi within his closer vicinity as Yuugi showed him the world through his own eyes, the people it possessed, his family, friends, and, in the midst, his whole life and what he held dearest to him. Yuugi had given him his unconditional trust, given him something that was so great, so significant in all its meaning, that it didn't take long for Yami to open up the locked doors of his soul and being to Yuugi. Yami had been reassured by the sole piece of evidence of Yuugi's kind-natured being through the kind and risky gesture of placing his absolute trust in a complete stranger that could so easily turn around and bring harm to him or his loved ones harm.

 

Yuugi had trusted Yami unconditionally, a trait so forgone from this world that it would be a gift from the gods to ever encounter someone who possessed it. The fact that Yami had found someone who possessed one of the divine traits so soon after his return to the world of the living did not register lightly with him. To be in the mere presence of such divinity truly was a gift of the gods and it showed Yami that Yuugi, the boy he had thought to be a threat, was actually the light that the ancient scriptures had spoken of. He would hold him in the highest regards, for Yuugi was truly a god's child. Who, other than the child of a deity, could house such an amazing trait?

 

And, granted with the other's unwavering trust, the two had learned, developed, grew. In their journeys they had met the most unlikely of obstacles, the most terrifying of occurrences, but, to no avail had the passage of the events deterred the formulation of a strong and beautiful bond between the two. They had overcome them with bonds of the purest faith, the most unlikely devotion, a spark of flaring fidelity that strengthened as the years passed, blooming into a beautiful and forbidden love that, once awakened, joined their hearts in an unbreakable bond that spoke of a world of promises, the most unwavering devotion, and a faith in the other that raged with the power of a thousand suns.

 

Darkness and Light were thus joined and their fate together was scriptured in the stars. However, however strong the love existing between two beings is, however needy, however infectious and absolutely wonderful, it can also prove to be a quite tricky and fickle thing, deterring and prolonging fate's great and eventual fulfillance, which, unfortunately, was the case here.

 

The Light had discovered his feelings, so true, overwhelming, and great in all their utter brilliance, but the Darkness, locked so many years within the confines of the puzzle, had truly forgotten all recollection of what it was to truly feel and touch with hands unguarded from his long exposure to the cold, deceitful hands of the shadows. Even after being exposed to the being of purest chastity and divine light, the shadows hold on the pharaoh's memory remained as strong and impenetrable as ever; the pharaoh had no knowledge of the pure and beautiful emotions that he could once name, embrace, and understand. The Darkness stood ignorant, past knowledge blanketed over in a thick veil fueled by the insidious will of the shadows for the pharaoh to remain eternally bonded to them, cold, alone, and unseeing.

 

It had succeeded, completely blinding the pharaoh, and it was for this reason the Light, designated Yuugi by the wills of the boy's long-deceased parents, was currently sitting on the stairs watching his grandfather sweep around the dim room of the living room, longing and wondering what it was to feel loved, to be touched, held, things that frequently drifted through his lonely mind long nights when lack of distractions resulted in silent traversing of feelings he had yet to experience.

 

Yuugi sighed, orbs of usually bright amethysts dimming as unwanted thoughts began to silently cross the inner corridors of the boy's already-troubled mind. They downcast almost immediately, the light from the setting sun causing them to glow in an almost ethereal manner.

 

He had never experienced what it was to feel loved by another, to feel that touch, that unwavering devotion that came from another when they truly loved them. He had only experienced a love that, to this day, lay unrequited by the one person that, in his complete lifetime, had expressed more love for him than all his closest friends and his ji-chan combined and had pledged a promise of protection that would reign until the heavens fell, the worlds clashed, and the gods themselves had long since dispersed from this world, stardust brilliance fading and disappearing into the corridors of time bringing with them an immortal promise that would last through the ages until time itself stood still.

 

He knew he was selfish for wanting more, for wanting something he knew he could never hope to obtain, but he couldn't help but want more. He was in love with the darkness that kept his soul.

 

Was it not normal for the light to yearn for the darkness? To ache to be in its presence? To feel loved and be loved in return? Was it not to be expected?

 

The keeper of the amethysts sighed despondently. Maybe it wasn't customary, but that didn't stop his soul from longing for something his heart so desperately needed, that didn't stop the pain of a slowly breaking heart, that didn't stop the long hours of heartbreaking tears during deep, dark nights when the implausibility of the one thing he wanted to happen above all others was the most overwhelming and damaging in the still, unrelenting silence of the darkness where vital, welcomed distraction was nonexistent, dormant until Ra's passage had breached the horizon and the morning shadows had progressed in falling over the world once again.

 

His slowly breaking heart was quite real and it was only natural for him to scream for salvation, no matter what form that salvation came in. Yuugi loved Yami with all his heart and the recent discovery of the spirit's date with Tea had emotionally and mentally wounded him. He had to sever many bonds with the spirit just for his own survival. If he were bonded to Yami for any portion of the day, he would probably fall into a great depression that none would be able to pull himself out of. The feelings and emotions that drifted into his side of the bond from Yami's would most likely serve as a staggering blow of torment that would reduce Yuugi into a further state of depression and hopelessness.

 

Yuugi hated it, not being able to sense his other at every moment, every millisecond of the day, hated to not feel his every emotion, experience his every thought, his every wish, but, it had to be done. He would surely fall to his inner depression if it wasn't done. If he ever felt the indescribable pleasure that would undoubtedly flow into his side from Yami's if ever the spirit shared an extremely sensual experience with Tea, Yuugi would surely kill himself. Just the thought of the likelihood of that particular event happening and the meaning it would entail when it finally did, caused his heart to constrict painfully and a choked sob to violently rack through his already-trembling form.

 

Yes, he surely would kill himself if that ever did happen.

 

“Yuugi?”

 

Drained and despairing amethyst eyes brimming with unshed tears opened to meet worried violet, set in a concerned, creased face of an elderly man situated at the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Yuugi!”

 

Hasty stomping of feet could be heard and the next thing Yuugi knew he was the subject of a rather massive, anxious, and inquiring hug. Yuugi, desperate for human contact, immediately leaned into the touch and embraced the elder, throwing his hands around him and squeezing him tightly with no intention of letting go.

 

“Yuugi…”

 

“Grandpa, it's not fair!”

 

“Yuugi, sometimes in this life we are forced to let go of what we cherish the most and, at other times, we are forced to settle with what we have…in your case, it is the latter. If Yami loves you, he loves you and he will let you know… If not, than you will have to settle with what he is willing to give…”

 

Drawing back from the strong embrace, first having to pry Yuugi's arms gently off where he was holding him in a death grip, absolutely refusing to let go, Solomon smiled warmly into eyes of despondent and tear-ridden amethysts as he held Yuugi's hands in his own gently.

 

“You know how caring Yami is and you know that the last thing he would ever do is intentionally hurt you, so have faith in him and his decision. If Yami wants to merely be friends, respect that. If he needs guidance and acceptance, be there for him. If he possesses feelings for this Tea girl, support him with the knowledge that Yami will be happy and will remain devoted and true to you as a friend…But, if you truly do love him, he has the right to know; something as strong as love shouldn't be kept from the one that it is targeted towards.”

 

Yuugi swallowed thickly, his eyes downcast and downhearted, tears continuing to make their way slowly down the boy's soft, cherubic face.

 

“But what if he hates me…pronounces me as something that is vile and completely unworthy of his trust and friendship...” A choked sob. “W-what if he leaves?” A barely audible whisper, chords of sadness resting on the fine line between tangibility and silence.

 

“Yuugi…you know him better than anyone. Do you really believe that? That he would leave you at the first chance he got? With everything you two have gone through, experienced together, you should know that he would never do that. You are his entire world! He knew nothing before you rescued him from the puzzle; his devotion to you is stronger than anything I have ever seen! That you would even think that is unimaginable and deserving of punishment!”

 

Solomon gazed at Yuugi's trembling form with saddened, helpless eyes, the urgency of his past speech dying in the silent corridors of the house.

 

“Yuugi…you know him better than that. He would never leave you, wouldn't think twice of it; the sheer horror that accompanied it would probably cause nightmares to assault him for weeks. No, the only way he would ever leave you and cause himself that extreme kind of pain would be if he thought it would aid you in some way or thought it was your true will that he leave.”

 

Solomon smiled warmly into orbs of the most beautiful, teary amethysts, swirling with a sadness and despair that never should have belonged there.

 

“So, think Yuugi…based on your love for him and your faith in the kind, caring, and noble person he has proven himself countless time to be, do you really think he would leave you with a simple admonishment of your true feelings for him? Do you really think, with everything he has proven to you, that his principals fit in with those that he has sworn to protect you from? Do you really think that? Or, do you believe that he will respect you enough to stay and accept the declaration of your feelings gracefully?”

 

Aged amethysts eyes softened as the elder waited patiently for his grandson to reply, a silence settling in that was not at all uncomfortable as the talk lingered momentarily. A gentle sniff was heard.

 

“I d-don't b-believe he would leave me…b-but I'm afraid he would feel u-uncomfortable around me and p-put his relationship with Tea on the rocks for my sake, his fear of hurting me ruling his actions and making him unhappy…”

 

“Yuugi…Yami has the right to know…you can't withhold something so precious from him, it is ethically wrong…how do you know that he doesn't actually feel the same way about you and is waiting for some sign to alert him of your requited feelings?”

 

“I'm just scared…”

 

“Yuugi…” Warmth entered aged violet and a soft smile graced across elderly features. “There is nothing to fear when it comes to Yami; he will protect you until his last dying breath, until his body can fight no more. He will not reject you.”

 

Another sniff was heard.

 

“…So ask yourself this. Will you truly be okay if you never tell him? Will you never wonder what your actions may have spurred? Will you never regret?”

 

“Grandpa…”

 

The opening of the front door abruptly broke Yuugi off and Yuugi stared wide-eyed as Yami entered, his eyes downcast and his continence downhearted.

 

Crimson eyes rose detachedly when he sensed two pairs of eyes on him and, when frozen violet came met saddened crimson, both froze.

 

Solomon slowly got up, inching past the two with great, unfounded caution. He hastily slipped into the kitchen, nothing more than a quiet mumble slipping into the rigid silence providing the reason for his hasty departure.

 

The two stood stock still, frozen. Anxiety-ridden ruby wide and alarmed held in an inseparable gaze with that of panicked violet, traces of horrible sorrow scattering and flitting madly out of view from fearful amethyst as their owner staggered backwards up a couple of steps, a spark of rising anxiety ignited and flaring behind pools of agitated lavender.

 

“Yuugi…”

 

A pained whisper, distraught chords lacing and flowing into words of the most heartbroken heritage reaching out to the being currently situated on the stairs in desperate pleading. A series of concerned steps forward, a hand outstretched seeking, searching for the one that had provided comfort all these years, anxiety-ridden cerise full and staggering with despair begging, pleading for the `one' to come to him.

 

A terrified whimper, practicer rapidly recoiling backwards to the far side of the landing, shudders shaking his ever-so-frail form from head to toe.

 

He wouldn't. He couldn't. Yami had seen his tears. He wouldn't let it happen. He was not going to lose him.

 

Wide ruby eyes filling to the brim with tears, misguided and swirling irises of molten ruby beseeching, pleading for an answer, for an admonishment of any truth that would lead to a clarification as to `why.'

 

A whimper, pained and unsure and moribund, distressed, slashing from the quivering body of the frail figure, crystalline tears silently wading past closed lids as the torrent of unbearable emotions swirled, encroached, and ate away at his vulnerable being.

 

Pang after pang of horrible anguish assaulted Yami's troubled mind, pang after pang ebbed relentlessly and crashed, bearing and oppressive onto his last line of defense, the rapidly-failing safeguard that meant the difference between keeping his composure or loosing it completely…pang after pang encroached into his already torn and crumpled being, faint echoes of a fluctuating bond line threatening to fall letting in even more vicious pain that hissed and raged on contact with his own.

 

Pained ruby eyes cracked open, aggrieved and wounded, and began to desperately seek out the source of his distress, pain shadowed by utter urgency as they frantically scanned the landing.

 

Pools of clouded cerise landed on a frail and whimpering body closed in upon itself at the far side of the landing and anxiety immediately set in, waves of panic, hysteria, and anguish combining in one vicious tidal that made him forget about all else except the wounded being before him.

 

“Yu-ugi…”

 

Pain…indescribable pain.

 

Why did it hurt so much...?

 

Body shifting, indescribable pain joined with wince, limbs trying vainly to maneuver a body closer to that of the encasing of all concerns.

 

What…heavy panting…was wrong with him???

 

Blinding emotions, thick and overpowering and full of anguish crashing, a once-rigid and hysterically monitored mental wall crumbling and fruitlessly falling re-opening the link between two anguished beings.

 

A pearly light exploded, erupting from the center of a gracefully etched eye set in the face of an inverted pyramid, gilded surface reflecting light in utter majesty as it swept the landing's interior deftly.

 

Ruby eyes weighed down, darkened by different emotions and physically exhausted, stared at the boy across the landing through half-lidded orbs, heavy pants coming out in prolonged exhales every so often.

 

He felt things, different emotions. He could make out a light, but, for the life of him, he couldn't understand what it was. It seemed familiar, the distorted and divaricated image painting a faint sensation of familiarity over his deadened and, otherwise, anesthetized being, but, for some reason, all he could make out were these emotions that were silently drifting into his conscience.

 

Sadness, unbelievable despair, loneliness, faint jealous, helplessness...feelings that were, for some reason meandering into his subconscious…

 

What did they mean? Why was he feeling these things? No, why was he feeling things that, with some detached sense, he knew he was not experiencing through the absence of any feeling on his part?

 

Light thinned and rotating beams slowed, glaring light softening to leave place for further understanding.

 

Misted cerise widened as two and two clicked.

 

These were Yuugi's feelings…

 

The light seemed to smile and blinding rays dispersed just as quickly as they had come, Sennen eye fading back to its normal expression of god-like impassivity as the awakened magics slowly dispersed.

 

Yami fell to his knees, a shaky hand reaching out to keep him from falling to the harsh, carpeted floor below him. Wide cerise eyes stared in sheer fallacy at the carpeting below him.

 

These were Yuugi's emotions? What he was feeling???

 

“Yami, I've come to tell you that I- Yuugi!!!”

 

Yami's head snapped up when he heard the loud shout and his face immediately paled. Solomon was presently kneeling beside an unconscious Yuugi who seemed to have passed out during the brink of things, frantically checking him over for any signs of a wound or concussion.

 

Yami, though physically exhausted from the ordeal, was immediately at his side. Looking on in silent panic and hysteria over Yuugi's state, Yami hastily scanned the boy's body for signs of exterior wounds and bruising. Solomon checked for signs of internal bleeding.

 

Their searched ended in their favor, with absolutely no signs of wounds, bruising, or concussions.

 

Solomon, after doing one last check, withdrew from Yuugi's slumped form, wiping his sweaty brow in the process. Relaxed and utterly relieved, he kept his eyes closed as he took the proper time to wipe all of the perspiration away with a spare handkerchief.

 

He had come upstairs to tell Yami something that he had also planned to tell Yuugi as well. He had a convention the following morning and, if he wished to get there on time with a good night's rest, he would have to leave soon. He didn't want to leave Yuugi in this state, but this convention was mandatory for all archeologists in the local region. There was an important briefing taking place that all archeologists had to attend, the spoken matter, a secret discovery made not long ago in a classified location. They required insightful opinions over a factor of this discovery that was unknown to even him, one of the most successful archaeologists in Japan.

 

Solomon was quite intrigued, had been earlier and, though he did not wish to leave Yuugi, was still now. He trusted that Yami could take care of him while he was gone and would put faith in the older teen to keep him safe and well-protected.

 

Opening his aged amethyst eyes with a soft, serene smile gracing his lips, Solomon unconsciously let his gaze settle on the sight before him. Yami had his face unbelievably close to Yuugi's, soft, ruby eyes silently traversing the contours of the boy's face: his closed lids, his nose, his cheeks, his mouth…he seemed to be hypnotized by them. Soft, tanned hands were stroking ever-so-delicately along the petal-soft contours of his grandson's face, gentle, feather-soft touches tender and ghosting across exposed skin betraying a sense of hidden cherishment but also a wish deeper than all others for the beautiful being in front of him to wake up.

 

If he didn't know better, he would say that those were definitely signs of something deeper than friendship.

 

Solomon smiled. Maybe this wasn't going to end in heartbreak after all…

 

Deciding that it was time to voice the existence of his need for departure, Solomon set about gently trying to attract Yami's attention. It was harder than he thought.

 

After two or three attempts to reach Yami through verbal dialect, Solomon finally settled on something physical, tapping Yami rather harshly on the shoulder. His action was rewarded though, with Yami's almost-immediate snap out of stupor and his look of utter bewilderment, miasma fading away to leave place for confusion and silent inquiry.

 

“Enjoying the view?”

 

Looking up at Solomon after his eyes had subconsciously drifted back to Yuugi, Yami quirked a regal eyebrow, asking for clarification on what he meant.

 

Chuckling slightly, Solomon shook his head. “Never mind…Now, getting back to what I was originally going to tell you before I came up here, I have a convention tomorrow and I have to leave soon if I wish to get there with sufficient time to rest and be ready for tomorrow.”

 

Yami nodded, but then, after something occurred to him, he hastily turned ruby eyes to gaze up into elderly violet. Solomon had risen to his feet.

 

“What about Yuugi?”

 

Solomon smiled down at him softly. “Give him sufficient rest and, as soon as he wakes up, which I believe will be in a couple of hours, order out as a treat for yourselves. I have left change on the table in the living room by the phone.”

 

Yami nodded his head in understanding, trailing his eyes back down to Yuugi who was still unconscious in his arms sadly. His thoughts were disrupted by Yuugi's grandfather.

 

“Oh, and to make it easier for him, assuming that he might be very weak, you might want to carry him downstairs to the couch. I will leave some blankets on the coffee table before I leave.”

 

Nodding his head again to confirm he understood, Yami quietly watched the old man grab some blankets from the hall closet before he quietly ambled across the landing and disappeared from view, light footfalls on angulated carpeting speaking of a peaceful retreat.

 

Turning his eyes back toward his young charge situated comfortably in his lap, Yami immediately felt guilt surge violently into his system. He had not been by his young charge's side when he had needed him. He had been too busy across the landing trying vainly to deal with his own overpowering emotions…

 

At this recognition, Yami's face visibly dimmed, swirling, liquid rubies of the deepest malt falling to the floor, reflecting the deepest sorrow and repentance over something that, in all likelihood, could not be avoided…

 

He had dealt with his own emotions, something that could not be helped.

 

He had been looking out for his young charge; he had only become momentarily distracted when a blinding light encompassed his entire vision, his state of mental exhaustion and numb registry compelling him to only deal with what was in front of him at the time. His overwhelmed and languid mind had been unable to do anything else.

 

He had been overwhelmed, overpowered, set in a state where even the most logical of thoughts were scrambled far beyond any sense of comprehensibility; he had no hope of registering anything other than what was directly in front of him…It was unfortunate and wrong that he blame himself for Yuugi's loss of conscious, but, like in every situation where a person's beliefs and principals kick in, Yami's unjust reaction was solely based on beliefs that predominated the vast realm of his personality.

 

It was only natural, but very unfortunate.

 

Yami closed his eyes in silent, pained accession; he had reached a verdict. If it was, in fact, his fault that that Yuugi had fainted and the blame belonged entirely to him, than he would make it up to Yuugi by showing him the unwavering devotion and commitment he deserved.

 

He would be his for the night and, that truth he would stick to, no matter what happened.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Clouded amethysts opened wearily, the remaining effects of sleep slowing fading away as time sluggishly passed and the question of where the boy actually was waddled ruthlessly slow into his deadened and pained senses.

 

His vision was blurred and indistinct, silhouettes of atypical objects distorted and smeared beyond belief sliding in and out of perceptibility as he vainly tried to focus his scattered attention span into trying to decipher his location, a divaricating of vision and sudden, spread out loss of senses completely throwing him off.

 

He tried to sit up, only for his entire world to spin viciously out of control. Gyrations of different colors assaulted his already-troubled mind, the whirling colors spinning rapidly around him making him feel unbalanced and queasy, making him wish for nothing more than for it all to stop.

 

All of a sudden, he felt very light headed. Tottery unsteadily, Yuugi blindly reached out for something to steady himself. His hand met air.

 

Too weak to stop himself from plummeting, weary amethysts closed and awaited the arrival of the harsh, unfeeling floor with detached indifference. A series of hasty footfalls and he found himself in the braces of something warm and comfortable.

 

Opening his eyes, his hazy vision was met with that of a shadowed silhouette of chiseled features of bronze elegance and swirling pools of scarlet delicacy threaded and laced with locks of concern and guarded anxiety.

 

“Yami…”

 

A slip in vision, perception melting and blurring threateningly around him, legs feeling unbelievably weak.

 

“Yuugi!”

 

Yami stole forward, catching Yuugi just in the knick of time. Pools of molten brilliance blaring with concern and alarm, Yami slid down to the floor, gracefully sinking down to one knee as he delicately lowered Yuugi out of his arms and onto the plush surface of the couch. Eye contact was not broken; eyes of deepest cerise flowing with chords of quieted trepidation silently stayed trained to that of the boy's barren amethysts. Desolated depths held nothing except blank recognition as they silently surveyed the man crouched in front of him from under bleak half-lids.

 

A burst of light from an unknown source and blaring anxiety quieted down momentarily, steadily pulsating cerise slowing and filling with something unrecognizable. Glistening amethysts rising wearily to gaze into heavily-lidded cerise in silent question, exotic depths darkened and swirling with something intangible. The brush of a hand, feather-soft, gracing across delicate features. Blush rising subtly across alabaster features, irises of glimmering lavender staring up uncertainly into orbs of deepest malt. Knuckles tracing a defined jaw line, darkened pools of liquid cerise aflame and smoldering melting into transfixed amethysts.

 

A shift closer, darkened cerise smoldering with liquid desire falling to a pair of pliant lips presented before him. Light fading, liquid fire twinkling. Amethysts silently waiting, stalk still, full, and enamored, chords of forgotten question trickling away from his dark's close proximity.

 

Noses brushing, lips parting, two beings reaching out in yearnful seeking. A brush, a plea, a whisper.

 

Light's flash.

 

BRING!!!

 

Yami reeled backwards, his back hitting the coffee table rather harshly. He stared on in utter bewilderment, completely failing to register the ringing device that was blaring on in mounting complaint on the side table beside the couch. He stared on, his eyes wide and disbelieving.

 

He had almost-No. He hadn't. That's right; he hadn't. He had just imagined the entire thing. It had been a dream, that's right. His mind had just come up with it all. That's right. It had just been a weird and psychotic dream. Yes, that must have been it. There was no chance that he has almost kissed Yuugi. Nope, no chance. It had all been a dream, an utter fallacy of his deranged mind! He hadn't been drawn to him, hadn't wanted to feel those soft lips molding against his, hadn't wanted to share something so intimate. Nope, he hadn't.

 

His breathing became a bit more ragged. Than what were these feelings assaulting his body? Why did he feel so hot? Why was his heart hammering uncontrollably in his chest? Clutching his chest as ragged pants fell heavily past his parted lips, he risked a glance at Yuugi.

 

Big Mistake.

 

Gods, one look, just one look, was enough; Yuugi's elevated breathing, his flushed cheeks, it was enough to send him over the edge. Yami bit down harshly on his lower lip as he quickly averted his gaze away from his charge. New and unfamiliar urges were sparking through his helpless being, a need growing deep within his lower abdomen that he could only barely control.

 

Yuugi had told him what a kiss was. Of course. He had told him that it was an unconditional expression of devotion and vast caring towards the one person it was targeted towards, but he had never, never expected that such an innocent gesture could spark something so powerful, so incredible. The emotions, the heat; it felt like he was on fire.

 

`Gods…these feelings…I know these shouldn't be things I'm feeling. This desire, this want for something, what does it mean? In those moments, I was drawn to Yuugi…I could feel an invisible force drawing me to him, whispering intoxicating murmurs into my ear that severed my grip on reality and made it so he was all I could see, a piece left to fulfill me, something I was desperately seeking...What do these feelings mean? How could that innocent gesture, that almost-kiss with Yuugi, spur such unbelievable emotions within me? These feelings, they are so foreign, so strange, what could they possibly mean?'

 

A dusky hand desperately gripped the heavy linkings of an inverted golden pyramid that was surprisingly warm.

 

-Yuugi's Pov-

 

`Yami almost kissed me…No, that couldn't have been it. He's in love with Tea, not me. Why on earth would he want me when he could have her? That's right…He was probably just leaning in so he could-could-study the cushions or something…ya, that must've been it. The probability of him ever desiring to kiss me is as high as the plausibility that humans will ever walk on water…'

 

Yuugi's demeanor visibly fell as the seemingly-factual words infiltrated the corridors of his mind and the scantly-twinkling hope that had glistened momentarily before was successfully snuffed out and doused of all life and comfort.

 

Yuugi may have loved the pharaoh with all his heart, but he knew when to quit hoping, to quit trying to convince himself that the impossibility of his dark ever seeing him as something more was possible. Yami saw him as a friend, nothing more. Yuugi would never be the holder of the pharaoh's heart, he would never be the one nestled inside the deep, warm haven his dark's arms provided, he would never be the one to receive those timely-spoken words of sincere cherishment, protection, and devotion….That fate was reserved for another. Another being…Tea.

 

His pain only seemed to heighten.

 

-End Pov-

 

Ignorance continued to play a hand as a gilded surface glinted happily in silent knowing under the wash of light emanating from a nearby lamp.

 

Knuckles constricted.

 

`W-what are these feelings? I can't name them…I can't classify them. I want to name them. No, I yearn to name them, but I can't. W-why can-can't I? I can feel a hidden, secret meaning underlying all of these feelings, as if these feelings are trying to alert me of something I am presently ignorant too…as if all these sensations are trying to deter my attention away from my crisis at the moment and shine light through a thick fog onto another, more significant area of my life that holds the key providing all the answers to my problems…The knowledge I desire is held just beyond my fingertips…it is a distorted, bodiless mass of answerless answers that I have yet to mold into clear and palpable reality.'

 

Weary cerise slowly peeled themselves open.

 

He unconsciously gripped the links of the chain a bit tighter. `I must decipher the meaning underlying all of these feelings. I have a feeling that the underlying message from whence these feelings bound is vastly important and the likelihood that this concept is slightly, if not entirely, held accountable for my hikari's recent actions only serves to spur me on further. I must solve this dilemma before it is too late; the well-being of my hikari may depend upon it…'

 

The phone sliced into the still silence, shrill screams of a muted complaint rising suddenly to shatter the past stillness to bits.

 

Amethysts eyes snapped open, oppressive sadness momentarily forgotten as murky depths of cloudiness dispersed. Turning his attention towards the curious screaming contraption, Yuugi stared at it in passive fascination before lifting the receiver and placing it to his right ear.

 

“Moshi Moshi?”

 

“Yug', ya finally picked up!”

 

“Joey?”

 

“Yeah. Something the matta Yug', ya don' sound happy?”

 

Realizing that he had stupidly answered the phone without masking his tone, Yuugi mentally kicked himself.

 

“No, no, Joey! I am happy! I just…ran to the phone!”

 

Unconvinced by his friend's excuse, but willing to let it slip, Jou dropped it. Besides, why should he worry if Yami was there? Right?

 

“Okay…if ya say so.”

 

There was a slight pause. In this time, Yuugi was trying his best to keep his eyes from trailing to Yami who seemed to be extremely caught up in his thoughts, zoned out with his eyes clenched tightly and his right hand tightly grasping the heavy linkings of the Sennen chain with unfounded ferocity.

 

“Are you and Yams doin' anything tonight?”

 

This caught Yuugi's attention.

 

“Are Yami and I doing anything tonight?”

 

“Ya, I thought we could catch a movie or somethin'.”

 

“I'm not exactly sure…”

 

“Awww, come on bud. We haven' dun anythin' fer' a while. I was thinkin' tha' the three of us could do somethin'. I could also invite Honda and even Tea if Yami wants me too!”

 

At the mention of Tea, Yuugi's face visibly faltered . Traces of tears began to collect at the edges of his dimmed and darkened amethysts as he desperately tried to keep himself from breaking down. He did not want to return to the world of devastating heartbreak that he seemed to relocate to twenty-four-seven.

 

“Yug?”

 

“Ya?”

 

“Are ya sure yur' alright?”

 

“Yes, I'm just…distracted.”

 

“I don't believe you, put Yami on.”

 

The phone was abruptly taken away from Yuugi.

 

“I'm sorry Joey, but tonight is not a good night.”

 

“Yami? Wha's happenin' ova' there?! I think Yuugi's cryin'!”

 

Yami's eyes immediately shot away from the phone and onto Yuugi. Despite the fact that Yuugi was facing away from him, Yami could still make out the distinct body language that betrayed Yuugi; ginger sweeps of hands across soft cheeks trying to wipe away evidence that was presented in salty tears, gentle sniffs vainly trying to be muffled as they drifted into the still silence of the quiet room, gently shuddering shoulders. He recognized it for what it truly was; Yuugi was presented as an open book in front of him. He was instantly all concern. Something was deeply troubling Yuugi at this moment and Yami was determined to find out.

 

It was much like the stair incident when he had accidentally walked in on a private conversation between Yuugi and his grandfather. In those moments, Yuugi's mental barrier had collapsed and, the sense of alarm and anxiety that surged from Yuugi's end following it, had been astronomically overwhelming. The sheer strength of it had, altogether, blown him away and, the weakened state that followed, he supposed, was the price for it.

 

Letting the receiver hang limply against his ear, Yami let his eyes waver on Yuugi's vulnerable form as a few tears began to stray at their edges.

 

Despite the recuperation time he had needed, Yami was glad it had happened. The information he received in those instances of Yuugi's vulnerability was more information than he had received in the past two weeks. Even the pain he had experienced at the other's behavior had been worth it for, now, he had knowledge to fall back onto to work through the conundrum of what was happening around him and to his charge.

 

He was also glad it had happened because, now, he could see the true state of things; there was no façade of Yuugi's beautiful face trying to deceive him into thinking nothing was wrong, there was no shroud of innocence trying to blind him to the reality of things.

 

In those instances it had just been Yuugi; there were no carefully-constructed ploys to keep him away from the truth, no deception, no dishonesty. Yuugi had been revealed to him in his true colors. The tears, the blaring anxiety that was pounding within terrified amethysts, it was all real.

 

The tears had been Yuugi's bleeding soul, the anxiety, a mirror to the much-more-devastating inner turmoil that raged within. In those instances, all former pretenses had been viciously ripped away and the reality of the world around him, once a carefully-monitored enigma of deception, had shattered to reveal various pieces of scattered, confusing truth and emotion that greatly puzzled Yami. Most of the emotions that had drifted into his side of the link in those instances, Yami could recognize and relate to; anxiety, sadness, loneliness, he knew them all. However, there was one emotion that he had placed that he could not put a name to, a feeling that was so deep and profound it shocked him.

 

Set in the unbearable torrent of crashing emotions that had relentlessly eroded down his senses to a point of losing complete cohesion, a quieted emotion had existed that had protected Yami against the harshness of the swelling tides. Protected against the migratory darkness, Yami had sensed the strength and resilience of this emotion, as it ebbed innocently on the tides of Yuugi's darkness. In those moments when the light had surrounded him, when he had been consumed in that protective embrace, he had also felt a return emotion from deep within him. An echoing call from deep within his heart that ached beyond understanding.

 

In that instance, all other emotions in the presence of that one emotion, had seemed moot. The only things that had mattered were this one emotion, his heart, and the bond that had irrevocably bonded the two.

 

Murmuring a quiet goodbye to Joey, Yami, all the while keeping his eyes trained to Yuugi, silently slipped the phone back into its holder.

 

A few stray tears leaked past sooty lashes.

 

Even if he felt things, emotions toward Yuugi that he could not name. He would not give up in his quest to find out what was hurting his young charge.

 

He had made a promise to Yuugi to always stand by his side when it seemed the entire world had crumbled at his feet and, even now, four years after the fateful day they had met, his resolve to stand by the boy's side was as strong as ever.

 

More tears leaked past sooty lashes.

 

He would find out what was wrong with his hikari. Even if it killed him, he would…

 

A series of precise steps and Yuugi found himself being drawn closer to the warm body of the ex-pharaoh of Egypt. Strong arms slid around him in a tactic to subdue at least a bit of his pain, a soft breath leaking out of slightly parted lips beginning to shudderingly be breathed across an open ear.

 

Something changed in quieted crimson as Yami gently pulled Yuugi closer to himself. No noise registered in Yami's mind.

 

Yuugi…only Yuugi…

 

Crimson eyes leaked open. Crimson fading to cerise, cerise to liquid malt. Eyes that held absolute devastation.

 

Always Yuugi…

 

Lids fell to cover irises that told all.

 

Soft words of encouragement were softly breathed into a semi-open ear, strong uncertainty and blind love caught in a vicious battle to overcome both darkness' that seemed to be opening up the world of the amethyst to a comfort and harshness that had the boy caught up in a contrasting sea of emotion. Feather-soft wind's breath danced across exposed flesh, shivers coursing down a clothed spine betraying, informative, and instillingly contrite.

 

He would not. Could not. He could feel Yuugi melting into him, accepting the embrace, relaxing...returning.

 

Please listen to me…Accept me…comfort me…return to me. You are my light, I am your darkness.

 

Gentle twinkle of light's energy. Brilliant flash. Heart-bared lucid emotion, smoldering, engulfing.

 

Liquid ruby clenched tightly, dusky lids flitting closed to conceal the deep emotional pain that radiated within.

 

Please light…

 

An unnamable emotion, bliss, completeness, mirrored by a pain that stretched beyond all others.

 

Please light…you are a part of me…you make me complete.

 

Evaporation, emotion gradually being sucked back into a dimming eye of an inverted pyramid.

 

Anguish.

 

Moribund violet eyes stared back into waning cerise.

 

Darkness…

 

Unvoiced fleeting emotions shared between violet and cerise.

 

Yami… mental block. I love you…

 

Utter devastation. Light leaking from dimming violet.

 

Light…

 

Deceived and tricked by shadow light, the emotion that you seek to define has been kept from you. With light, you will see the light. Be not of doubt, but embrace, rectify, experience…

 

Light's fade.

 

Anguish.

 

Tears…

 

Yuugi…

 

Tricked to be kept, kept to be imprisoned, imprisoned to be wielded, you have been deceived, but, with the upbringing of the light of the Sennen we will cast aside the shades of oblivion and illuminate for you the shades of truth...

 

Dimming.

 

Amethyst eyes.

 

Mou hitori no boku…remember me…

 

Anguish.

 

Mental block.

 

Not Tea…never Tea…

 

Experience, our prince, forthe knowledge that you seek lies nofurther within the deceptive cloud of oblivion than the oblivious eye makes it seem...

 

Yuugi…

 

Darkness…

 

Fall.

 

A further descent.

 

Remember, our prince, because the truth is what you see…

 

Yuugi disintegrated into tears within his arms.

 

Unbelievable anguish.

 

Remember,our prince, because the truth is what you see…

 

TBC…